Fate Line-142nd Hunger Games
by Blithe.Swing
Summary: The world has changed but the Games remain the same. A proven formula that has carried on for one-hundred and forty-one years, sending over three-thousand Tributes to the grave. This year, twenty-three will follow but the events that will end the Hunger Games have already been set in motion. SYOT OPEN


**Authors Note:** I am going to get right to the point of this SYOT without all of the fluff. I want to improve my writing skills. The only way to do that is to practice. This SYOT serves as a way to help me practice writing something fairly long from start to finish with hopeful input from my readers. However, this will affect the story in a few ways.

-There are no bells and whistles. Although it is in the future, only the world has changed. There is no big twist for this year's Games, it's just your box-standard Hunger Games. Some things have changed within the dynamic of the Games since it hit the 100th year but I don't want to get lost within a twist. Not this time.

-I'm changing the format of the POV's. You look at most SYOT's and they follow the same sort of format. Twenty-four POV's in the reapings then every character must have an equal number of POV's throughout the story. From a submitters mind, this does make sense. You spend hours creating these characters, you want to get the full experience. However, as a person writing, I don't want to fall out of love with the story because I have to write 1,000 word POV's for three characters who are not doing anything of note within that certain point in the story. Due to this, I have a plan. I will touch on this topic once I have the Tributes.

Also, this chapter is short and does lack in action. This is because I split the chapter in half so I can allow more time for people to submit. However, it does not affect how the chapters will read. I plan to have about five introduction chapters? Hopefully. This could change depending on how things go but for now, it's five.

So please enjoy this chapter and let me know what you thought, what you liked and how I can improve.

***Just because I am asking for pointers on my writing does not mean I am asking for hate or people to nit-pick every single detail. So I ask this, in your reviews please put at least ****ONE**** thing that you liked about the chapter. I must have done something right. I don't mind if it is a name, character, setting, sentence. Please place a positive point in there so I know your review is intended to aid me, not spread hate. Any reviews that are to spread hate will be deleted***

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There was a time when Anahita loved the sunrise, that was seven years ago. A summers dawn was once a silent happening while she slept. Yet now, it had become an all to common sight to greet the end to her sleepless nights.

Most mornings were the same, slumped in a velvet armchair that faced the window, painting the bland, white room in an array of warm colours. Anahita failed to feel it's warmth, her body tired and weak, her eyes dry and bloodshot. Her body ached for sleep but it was something she knew she was unable to give until the sun was high in the sky and the birds sang of safety. So instead, she waited, the untouched tea heating her shivering body until it had grown cold, only then would she drink.

When she was sixteen, they warned her about the memories, the nightmares that would plague her and the ways she would drown them out. She experienced them sometimes, leaving her trembling as she washed them away with burning liquor. The real thing that frightened her was the night itself. She had never been fond of the darkness, even when her home was a shack by the fish-scented docks. Yet after her Games, it took on a different form.

The sounds of nocturnal creatures morphed into beasts, their shadows stretching high across the walls. She never saw the monsters that hunted her but she knew that did not renounce their existence. In the Arena, she could see nothing yet they still hunted. Their snarls and howls being the only things a child heard before being mauled. She feared them more than the Tributes themselves. It was not the memory of murder nor memories of her fallen allies that kept her awake. It was the fear that no matter where and when the moment she shut her eyes, the creatures would be there, lurking in the night.

The armchair by the window gave her some ease. Watching the darkness melt away gave her the sense that she was still in control of her spirling mind. As if the light was a welcome friend slaying the mutts before her eyes. Although, until the sun had climbed high, she found herself unable to move. The well-lit house like a beacon until mid-morning. Only the bedroom stayed in darkness and that was for his benefit.

As the darkness faded away, she watched her reflection become faint. Her gaunt, pale face framed by the neatly plaited hair, falling upon her shoulders, replaced by the faint outline of her form. They said a Victors beauty beyond makeup degraded fast due to their habits and trauma's, she was no exception. One a beauty within her District, her body had begun to age long before her time.

Seven years ago, at the age of sixteen, she volunteered. A girl of breathtaking beauty and skills beyond her years with spears, she had all right to take part. She had all right to be arrogant. That trait led her to betray her Career alliance, darting off into the neverending darkness with her District Partner. A well-built boy, two years older with tanned skin, curly black hair and deep, brown eyes. She remembered him well, the unspoken but obvious feelings she held for the boy as they hunted down children, slaughtering anyone they came into contact with. At the time, she took pride in it, anything to impress him. Only later would it come to haunt her. The fondness for the boy vanished when he attacked her in the final three, Anahita only getting the upper hand after he slipped in the wet mud, herself close to bleeding out. Once she awoke, it started to twist into a deep depression she was never sure truly vanished. Taking your own life was out the question for Victors so she found her own ways to cope.

"Have you slept at all?" Gaius sighed, his Capitol accent faint but noticeable as it echoed through the empty house. He was visibly older than Anahita, fifteen to be precise although the age gap appeared shorter due to his youthful looks. Unlike most people of the Capitol, he remained physically unchanged. Aside from the deep blue, close cut hair or the extravagant facial hair, everything upon him was normal, even his light green eyes. However, he still shared his peer's fashion sense, even if he did tone it down for Anahita. Dressed hair to toe in a figure-hugging, emerald coloured, silk robe.

"An hour," the girl grumped, offering a smile to the man. "Which is good for me." Gaius lowered his head in guilt. Anahita was able to face her fears and sleep within a well-lit room. Gaius was unable to sleep with the bright light so while he stayed, the woman sacrificed her sleep for the man she loved.

Relationships between Victor's and Capitolites beyond pre-paid visits were few and far between. Common enough to be accepted but not enough for it to be public. Then again, Anahita found herself wondering if their relationship was kept under wraps because of their birth locations or because of his role within the Games.

When they first started dating two years previously, Gaius was nothing but a Game hand, taking the orders of the Head Gamemaker. However, a year ago, he was promoted, with little choice of his own. His position as head still allowed for their relationship to continue so long as it did not affect how he treated the Tributes. Head Gamemakers brought Victor's for their own pleasure all the time, just between these two, there was consent from both parties.

"I'll have to be gone by noon," he said softly, moving over to the armchair and standing behind the woman. He followed her gaze to the rising sun and sighed. "I won't see you until the pre-games-"

"I know." Anahita sounded distant, her voice laced with fear. Gaius spent most of the down season with her, he became her rock. Yet at least three months before the Readings he was forced to leave her to start work on that year's Arena.

Gaius planted a small kiss on her head before resting his hand on her shoulders. Anahita closed her eyes, taking comfort in the pressure upon her tense mussels.

"I have to tell you this...my contract demands," Gaius began. Anahita felt herself tense as she awaited what was coming. "If a family member or friend is chosen in the reaping this year, I can not protect them. I can not give them special treatment, no matter how close to you they are."

Anahita felt her heart drop as she thought about his words. She had no friends left within the District and anyone from school was free of the Readings. The people Gaius aimed his words towards were her siblings. She had three in total, although only two were within the reaping. It was her sisters Nyx's final year while her brother, Tyrance was only upon his second. Within her mind, she sort comfort in the hope that Gaius would help them. She knew it was false. Gaius cared for her but his work came first. He never told her about his plans, insider information and he never showed her preference when it came to the Tributes who received a victory.

Anahita smiled, looking up to the bad with defeat. "I know-"

"You understand that it's nothing against you?" He asked sternly.

Anahita paused for a moment before giving a nod.

"I do."

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***Just because I am asking for pointers on my writing does not mean I am asking for hate or people to nit-pick every single detail. So I ask this, in your reviews please put at least ****ONE**** thing that you liked about the chapter. I must have done something right. I don't mind if it is a name, character, setting, sentence. Please place a positive in there so I know your review is intended to aid me, not spread hate. Any reviews that are to spread hate will be deleted* (FYI, "hate" isn't just someone saying something doesn't make sense, it's saying, for example, "This whole SYOT is s**t, that fact you would call yourself a writer is stupid, just off yourself." Anything to that effect will not be tolerated. This also includes this sort of hate aimed at submitters.**

**A few rules before we get started. **

-The Tribute form and current list are on my profile. Please submit via PM. It keeps your characters a surprise. Review submissions also, I feel, needlessly take space within the reviews.

-There is not really a cap on the number of characters you submit. However, please don't submit me nine super vague characters in one day. Not only is it taking up possible spots from other submitters but your Tributes suffer as you don't spend as much time creating them. I think, for now, the guideline is **2 Tributes per-submitter** but I might extend if I am lacking submissions.

-Characters will die. I know some of them are close to your heart but if I kill them off, it stays that way. I have seen a few stories where people get angry and attack the writer for their choices. Some writers bring them back. **In this story, when a character is listed as dead, that's the end of the road. **

-The submitters have not agreed to be criticized for their characters. For this reason, no hate towards characters will **not** be accepted. You may dislike them and state why but no hate. I want people to have fun, not to panic about their character being torn to shreds within the comments.

**Anyway, that is all I really have. Be sure to look at my profile for the form and some more information. I really hope people submit or at least read along and help me improve my writing ability.**


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